Biotechnology Transfer

The transfer of technologies is one of the most relevant activities of ICGEB. Since 2001, over 70 agreements and collaborations for training, transfer of technologies and patent licensing have been concluded with industrial partners located in Argentina, Brazil, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Iran, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Uruguay and Venezuela. Most of the companies involved in these tech transfers are now producing biosimilars using ICGEB technologies. These products are not only sold on local markets but also successfully compete in the international arena.

The procedure to transfer ICGEB technologies foresees the finalisation of a Technology Transfer Agreement, which usually provides for a period of training in the ICGEB laboratories by a number of industrial partners' employees, a supply of genetically modified strains and the protocols for the production, purification and quality control of a specific biotechnological product. To provide further assistance, in some cases it is agreed that ICGEB scientists will assist the industrial partner while reproducing the process on its own premises.

A dedicated group of scientists and technicians operate at both the Trieste and New Delhi Components for technology transfer activities. A Biotech Transfer Unit for the development of technologies for biogeneric pharmaceuticals, industrial enzymes and other biomolecules with potential industrial applications, has also been established at the Cape Town Component.

Technology transfer beneficiaries are the sole responsible entity for the research, development and for the commercial use of the transferred technologies. Agreements with ICGEB do not include consultation and/or provision of certificates of analyses for biopharmaceutical regulatory purposes.